Bird Hunter Diaries – Details, episodes & analysis

Cooper's hawks are arguably one of the most polarizing raptors of the falconry cohort.  People either love them, or they hate them.  In this episode, I am joined by Nicole Perretta, a cooper's hawk lover and specialist when it comes to accipiter health and development.  We dive into cooper's hawk nature and how it impacts them as falconry birds, how to train your cooper's hawk to help maximize their success, and have some discussion on the differences and approaches to imprints, vs young passage/family group birds, vs true passage birds. 

This episode is a fun little "mic flip" where I get to interview Jonathan Munnier, host of the Falconry Chronicles podcast.  We dive into his start in falconry and in podcasting, and how the two overlap.  Then hop into some squirrel hawking, dog talks, and a run down of his last season with a hand-me-down goshawk!   

1:40 - Jonathan's Falconry blunder story (it involves an audience... as so many of our follies do!)

6:08 - Jonathan's personal background in work and in music, and how that led him to falconry

15:37 - First dog stories with a Viszla, and how he ended up with his current team of Dachshunds.

12:34 - What you need to know going into your first Dachshund

31:34 - Red tails, squirrel hawking, and adding in dogs

43:05 - Jonathan's experience last season with a hand-me-down goshawk.  His learnings, his takeaways, and some words of advice for those looking to pick up a second hand bird

55:05 - How you can support podcasters and keep falconry content coming to your feed

1:00:00 - Jonathan's rockstar story; that first catch moment, when it all finally came together and he could officially be called a falconer 

This week, we tell the story of my lovingly named, "Disaster Dog", Thelma.  Learns a few lessons from my story if you are looking to acquire someone else's bird dog, or just shake your head as you hear the many mistakes I made along the way.  

This podcast is brought to you by OnX, and Boss Shotshells.

Part of the HerUpland Podcast Network.

We all start somewhere.  For many of us, that place was not as a hunter.  This is the story of what took me, a non-hunter, to being a full fledged huntress, bird dog lover, and conservationist.  From trying to find game for my falcons, to starting to train bird dogs, it evolved rather quickly, as these things tend to do. 

Thank you to our sponsors!  OnX Hunt, and Boss Shotshells

A HerUpland Network Podcast.

Welcome to the Bird Hunter Diaries! Whether you prefer to pursue the uplands with a shotgun, or a raptor, there is something for everyone who loves to chase bird dogs here. 

A HerUpland Network Podcast. 

In this fun, gem packed interview I talk with Heather McNemar; diversely accomplished falconer and owner of Mountain State Falconry Supply. We cover a LOT of ground, so I'll provide a time stamp recap below:

1:00 - 21:30 - Intro where I monologue the harrowing story of losing my peregrine, and the lessons learned. (Spoiler alert: I got him back!)

25:30 - Heather's background and intro to falconry.

25:30 - Passage Coopers Hawks. We cover husbandry, flight styles and slip management, and Heather's lessons on manning, health and burn rate with these high-octane birds.

56:20 - Kestrels. Heather is one of the folks who has truly embraced the kestrel's hunting style and applied it to falconry to have hugely successful days with her kestrels.  She shares with us her approach to slip management and entering birds.  We discuss the elements of bravery and self-preservation that you need to understand to be successsful with a kestrel. Then she runs us through her husbandry and fitness routines that are key to her success.  I'm not going to lie, after this interview and everything I learned from Heather, I am seriously thinking about snagging a late season kestrel and trying my hand at spring starling hawking after I put my big birds up.

1:18:00 - Red Tails and squirrel hawking. We cover slips, and hawking in low game count years, how a dog can change you squirrel hawking game, and the age old question of "Does size matter?".

1:33:10 - Dachshunds.  The long hair version specifically.  Heather shares her experiences adding a dog to the mix of both family and hawking.

1:41:40 - Mountain State Falconry Supply. We discuss the start and inspiration for Heather's new falconry store, her passion for supporting other falconers through her sourcing, and a new hawk box she is offering with a brilliant guillotine style front.

You can find Mountain State Falconry on the internet here: https://www.mountainstatefalconrysupply.com/ and follow them on Instagram @mountain.state.falconry.supply 

This is a rundown of some of the do's and don'ts of finding a falconry sponsor.  Your apprenticeship is an exciting time, and many falconry apprentices find themselves rushing to find the first person they can who will agree to sponsor them.  But falconry is a sport with a large learning curve, and finiding someone who will support that journey the way you want to be supported will be critical to your success.  I hope this helps you navigate some of the ins and outs of assimilating into the falconry community and finding that first, critical mentor. 

Join me in learning from my lessons learned on this first ever trip to Montana!  My friend, Mandy and I, have been saving for this trip for almost a year, and we finally made it happen!  From terraine to birds themselves, we had a lot to learn!!  Hopefully you take something away from this to save you some time on your next or first trip! 

Join us on a HerUpland hunting camp at HerUpland.com\events

The Bird Hunter Diaries is part of the HerUpland Podcast Network.

Brought to you by onX Hunt, Boss Shotshells, and Toyota. 

This week is the second half of my interview with Mandy, where we dive into the lessons and growth of new shotgun shooters, and a deep dive into our recent shooting lessons with our favorite instructor, Tracy Wright of Dark Horse Shooting. 

Join us on a HerUpland hunting camp at HerUpland.com\events

The Bird Hunter Diaries is part of the HerUpland Podcast Network.

Brought to you by onX Hunt, Boss Shotshells, and Toyota. 

Join me this week on an adventure through the chukar hills with my friend, Mandy.  Mandy lives out in NV, and we met in 2022 at the HerUpland mountain grouse camp.  We've since become great adventure buddies, and enjoy sharing our stories and time together chasing these crazy bird dogs. 

Join us on a HerUpland hunting camp at HerUpland.com\events

The Bird Hunter Diaries is part of the HerUpland Podcast Network.

Brought to you by onX Hunt, Boss Shotshells, and Toyota.